Vineland man convicted of cocaine distribution

BRIDGETON -- A Vineland man was found guilty Friday on two counts of second-degree distribution of cocaine.

Marcos Hernandez, 34, faces between five and 10 years in state prison, but prosecutors said he is "extended-term eligible" because of his past criminal record.

Hernandez has a history of dealing drugs. He was sentenced to a maximum seven-year prison stint for dealing cocaine in 1996, and was released on parole from Bayside State Prison four years later.

In this latest case, Hernandez was the target of an undercover investigation by federal drug enforcement officers in 2005, in which investigators working with the county gave a convicted drug dealer Hernandez was familiar with $680 to buy cocaine from the suspect.

The informant was fixed with a wire to get an audio record of the transaction, according to court testimony this week.

Sentencing for Hernandez was scheduled for Nov. 11 and his bail was revoked Friday.